IDF considering replacements for heavy Merkava tank

IDF is continuing to deploy the Guardium unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – developed by G-NIUS Ground Systems – along the Gaza border.

Merkava.
(photo credit:Ariel Jerozolimski)

What will the IDF Armored Corps look like in 2020? Will the Merkava Mk 4 tank
still serve as the backbone of the IDF’s ground forces or will we see a smaller,
lightweight tank, possibly on wheels, plowing through the battlefield? These
questions are at the core of ongoing deliberations that are being held in the
IDF and Defense Ministry as they begin to consider a potential successor for the
Merkava.

Development and construction of the Merkava began in the 1970s
with the most advanced model, called the Merkava Mk 4, entering service in 2003
in the 401st Armored Brigade. The tank is purported to be one of the most
protected in the world capable of superior speeds and
maneuverability.

The review was sparked by the entry of active-protection
systems like the Trophy system, which has been installed on an entire battalion
of tanks and successfully intercepted a rocket- propelled grenade (RPG) along
the Gaza border in March.

The thinking in the defense establishment is
that tanks may no longer require thick layers of armor, which slow down the
vehicle, and raise fuel and production costs and could suffice with less armor
and more systems like Trophy.

The team set up to review potential
successors to the Merkava is led by the Weapons Development Branch in the Ground
Forces Command and includes representatives from the Armored Corps as well as
from the Defense Ministry’s Merkava Program Office, known by its Hebrew acronym
“Mantak.”

“We are thinking ahead and considering a wide range of
possibilities,” a senior IDF officer said on Tuesday. “We might decide to
continue with the Merkava Mk 4 forever or to develop something completely
new.”

In related news, the IDF is continuing to deploy the Guardium
unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – developed by G-NIUS Ground Systems – along the
Gaza border.

The UGV had been deployed so far just along one section of
the border but due to its success in patrolling the border and preventing
infiltrations, the IDF has decided to expand the project to additional sections
of the security fence.

The Guardium is equipped with sensors for unmanned
navigation and can be outfitted with grenade launchers, machine guns and other
operational means.